Pokemon: Aquamarine
by BlackTwistedTwilight
Summary: Cleo has had enough of her abusive life. Along with her best friend Taffy, she heads off to Hoenn, where she fully intends to become Top Co-ordinator. The girls are joined by two boys, one new, the other not. Taffy immediately hits it off with one of them, Cleo... not so much. Can she finally thaw her heart out for the one boy who truly deserves it?
1. Introductions Are In Order

**Hi! This is Twi with my first ever multi chapter story! I hope you like it 'cuz I had loads of fun writing it! **

**Note: Slash doesn't exist in my world, it kinda creeps me out. I do not mean to offend, just don't take anything I write in a perverted way please!**

Cleo shrieked and threw herself to the ground as a sturdy wooden chair was thrown at her head. She flinched as it shattered and the pieces scattered, falling all over her svelte form. Her father roared like an animal. Cleo covered her head with her slender hands and held back the few tears that threatened to fall on the dirty carpet.

"Stop it! Please!" she whimpered pathetically. Her only response was another inhuman roar and a different chair being crushed into a million pieces.

Walter was drunk, as he usually was. He had once been a kind and loving father to Cleopatra — until his beautiful wife was killed by a burglar. Now, he was drunk all the time and Cleo feared being around him. Now was one of the times where it was becoming more and more frequent when he completely lost his mind and behaved like an animal. When he became sober, he would beat Cleo for destroying the house because he couldn't remember wrecking it himself, and nearly killed Cleo in the process.

A loud honk startled the two of them; giving Cleo just enough time to scramble out from the now chair-less table she had taken refuge under, grab her purple backpack, and scurry out the door. The yellow bus was waiting for her. She took her normal seat way in the back, where no one would bother her. She jolted slightly as the bus drove away, just as her father crashed through the window. She ducked down as his blood-shot eyes swept over the bus, though she highly doubted that he would recognize her in his drunken stupor.

And so her short ten-minute bus trip was spent in absolute silence. Aside from the occasional conversation she overheard, she did nothing except sit quietly and hope no one would talk to her.

~At School~

"Hey! Cleo! Guess what!" Cleo moaned quietly and banged her locker shut as her best friend Taffy stumbled up to her; clutching a big bag. The last time she saw one of them, Cleo ended up modeling twenty-seven different full outfits.

"Hey, Taffy. What?" Taffy shook her bubble-gum pink hair out of her deep purple eyes. She looked positively astounded.

"You don't know what today is?" Cleo shook her hair.

"It's…TWIN DAY!" Taffy squealed, dropping the bag and throwing out her arms in a "Tah-dah" pose.

Cleo paled. "Tell me you didn't…"

"I brought you your outfit! It matches mine!" Cleo gazed in horror at Taffy's outfit: a purple tube top, a black tutu, black and purple striped leggings, black ankle high boots, purple elbow length fingerless gloves, and _lots_ of bangles. Cleo felt her will to live slowly drain away as her eyes were assaulted by the dark lavender and black garments.

"You know, that's _really_ ok. I'm not much for school spirit…" Cleo trailed off as Taffy's eyes started to water.

"You don't want the clothes? I made them myself!" Taffy sniffed. Were the girl's eyes sparkling?

"…Fine." _Someone can kill me now. _Cleo took the abomination and shuffled off to the bathroom.

"Did you hear, Gryphon _actually_ talked to that Lucy girl!"

"OMG! No way! He, like, never talks!"

"She totally doesn't deserve it, Gryphon is _so_ hot. He should be with, like, me!"

"Yeah! You're so awesome Gracie!"

_Yay. Gossip. I am _so_ lucky, _Cleo thought as she brushed by a blunette and her identical lackey. Changing swiftly, she prayed silently that no one would recognize her. "Hey, check it out! Look at that girl's outfit! I hear she's weird!" The lackey, AKA Madie, said in a nasty tone.

"Hey! Isn't that Parrot? I hear she doesn't have a will of her own!" Cleo responded in the exact same tone. Madie glared at her. Cleo sneered and rammed the door open.

"Ow!" Cleo gasped, and whirled around to see who she hit with the door. A boy about a year or two older than her with long, dark blue, spiky hair and emerald eyes was sitting on the floor, rubbing the forming lump above his left eye. Cleo groaned internally. The _one_ boy she just _had_ to hit. Gryphon, AKA: the heartthrob of the school, normally followed by crazed fangirls lathering at the mouth, and wannabe boys, also lathering at the mouth; but not for the same reason. He was quiet and intelligent, but also very rude and sarcastic in the way that made Cleo want to punch him in his pretty face.

"Oops. My bad," she mumbled, and started to walk away — much to the chagrin of the slavering fan girls. In a flash, Gryphon was up and had a tight hold on her thin wrist.

He hissed in her ear, "Aren't you going to apologize?" She turned to look at him with cold eyes.

"No." His eyes narrowed. His mouth opened to say more when…

"Hey Cleo! Did you try on…oh." Taffy surveyed the scene: the school heartthrob had a tight hold on Cleo, who looked ready to tackle him and not stop punching him 'till the body stopped moving — and of course, a growing mob of interested high schoolers. Taffy paled. She was incredibly shy, and there were a _lot_ of people here. Cleo turned to her, her aquamarine eyes narrowed.

"Hi Taffy, you're just in time to see me beat this guy up! I'm sorry, but your outfit might be damaged." _Yes! Victory!_ Gryphon scoffed, making three girls swoon dramatically.

"Yeah, right. I'd like to see you _try_," he snickered. _WHAM!_ In two seconds flat Gryphon was on his back. Cleo had twisted sharply and kicked his legs out from under him, then she hit him in the chest, flattening him. She sweetly smiled down on the defeated boy.

"You were saying Pretty Boy?" She then stepped over him and headed to lunch. If looks could kill, Cleo would spontaneously combusted on the spot. Taffy, now a dark crimson, scurried after her, also stepping over the humiliated Gryphon.

~At Lunch~

"Oh, Cleo, why did you have to do that?" Taffy whined. Cleo shrugged, and then leaned in closer as rabid fangirls stalked by, out for blood.

"He bugs the heck 'outta me! Why does he have to be such a jerk?" Now it was Taffy's turn to shrug.

"I 'dunno, but he's cute isn't he!?" Cleo clapped her hand over Taffy's mouth.

"Shh! We do not call that demon-spawn by the 'C-word'! And I really need to talk to you about something really import-"

"OMG! Your outfit is more adorable on you than me!" Cleo face palmed at Taffy's ability to change subjects.

"Yes, yes, I know. It's cute. But can we talk? 'Cuz I've been thinking. My life here isn't going anywhere and-"

"Should I make another in blue to match your eyes?"

"TAFFY! ATTENTION!" Cleo yelled, attracting several curious stares from other lunch-eaters. Taffy started and colored pink.

"Sorry. You were saying?"

"Thank you. I was saying, life here isn't going anywhere for me, so I'm…thinking of running away."

Taffy's eyes widened. "Say what?"

"As cliché as it sounds…I don't want to stay here anymore. People here despise me, my dad abuses me, and I'm failing because my teachers hate me. Give me one good reason to stay." Taffy's eyes teared up. "Oh no. Not the tears. Not that, come on Taffy, please?"

Taffy sniffed. "But… what about _me_? You're my protector! I'm gonna _die_ if you leave me alone! Wait! I know!" Taffy brightened. Cleo's eyes narrowed.

"What?"

"I'll come with you!"

"_What!?"_

**Me: And that is chapter one of my new story, Pokémon: Aquamarine! I hope you enjoyed, please leave me a review!**

**Gryphon: Why would they do that?**

**Me: ARGH! Get out! Harrison, get the broom!**


	2. 2 Trips to the Nurse and a Milotic?

**A.N: As mentioned before, slash doesn't exist in my world, so don't take anything I write in a perverted way…unless I mean it to be perverted, which will be unlikely:) I am quite innocent of today's versions of "Perverted" so if I write something that makes you go 'eeww!', PLEASE don't be mad at me! ~Twi**

**This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend Relle, and the very kind anonymous reviewer Jupitergirl132. Jupiter, your review made me laugh so loud; Mom thought I was dying. Don't count me out of the battle on the world! ~Twi**

**Previously on Pokemon: Aquamarine**

_Taffy sniffed. "But… what about _me_? You're my protector! I'm gonna _die_ if you leave me alone! Wait! I know!" Taffy brightened. Cleo's eyes narrowed._

_"What?"_

_"I'll come with you!"_

_"_What!?"

And now…

_"_No, no, no, no, no, no and yet again, NO!" Cleo argued, her face getting redder by the second.

_"_I am coming with you, and you can't stop me!" Taffy replied, an impeccably smug smile on her normally imperturbable face. Cleo growled in frustration.

_"_You can't come!"

"You can't stop me!" Taffy sing-songed. Cleo ground her teeth and wrung her banana into pulpy oblivion.

"Why do you even _want_ to come?"

"Because! You are my best friend, and I don't care to go to an early grave by staying here alone!"

Cleo beat her head against the wooden table, making even more lunch-eaters turn to look their way with a quizzical expression.

"I truly don't know whether to let you come, or tie you up and throw you in a closet!"

Taffy smiled. "I vote Option One!" The bell rang loudly, causing the two of them to jump. Cleo glared sulkily.

"We will finish this at a later date!" Cleo hissed, then stalked off to Life Science. Taffy smiled, then held up three fingers, _Three, two, one, and…_ Cleo then stalked back, picked up her backpack, and then stalked off again, crimson faced. Taffy just shook her head.

~In Life Science~

Cleo shrugged her shoulders, shifting her backpack straps to a more comfortable position on her thin shoulders. She glanced around the cold classroom, judging where to be tormented today: sit by Gryphon, X, sit by that weird smelling kid with the studded nose, X, sit by Gracie, X, sit alone in the corner, Check-mark! She slid over to the desk, which creaked ominously as she slid into it. The teacher glided into the already bored classroom, her flowing white dress leaving little to the imagination. Every time she spun around, everyone could see her black undies, causing several unfortunate kids to, A: throw up, or B: pass out on the floor.

"Good afternoon children! Today we are going to learn about the reproductive system!"

A small girl in the back timidly raised her hand, "Uh, Miss Underwood, we are learning about plants right now…"

"Oh, my bad! I was thinking about later tonight!" Miss Underwood said loftily with a wink. Cleo faintly heard screams before her world spun and she was kissing the floor.

~In the Nurse Room~

Cleo shook her head and rolled over. "Argh!" she screeched as she tumbled off the small white cot. Taffy's concerned face popped into her line of vision.

"Hi Cleo, how ya' feeling?" she asked, as she pulled her best friend up.

"I feel like I'm about to barf from the mental images that are running rampant through my skull."

"Oh, Miss Underwood going on a date with her husband later?"

"Yup."

"Oh, EW."

"What time is it?"

"1:56. Time for PE!" Taffy cried happily. Cleo moaned and slumped back onto the bed.

"Arceus! I don't have any… Gee. You shouldn't have." Taffy proffered a sparkly purple off-the-shoulder top with a pair of white shorts and black sneakers with a hair tie sitting on top of the neatly folded garments. _Hmm… Wear _that_ or have no PE clothes…_ Cleo snatched the clothes, checked to see where the nurse was, (She was in her office with loud music playing) and quickly began to change. Taffy handed her her shorts and pulled her out the door right after she yanked them on.

~In…(dun dun DUN!) the Gym~

By the time Cleo and Taffy arrived, everyone was already stretching. "Late!" barked the PE teacher, Mr. Crumfield, a man of enormous stature. Taffy pulled out the cute sparkly eyes.

"Mr. Crumfield, Cleo was in the Nurse office and I was sent to get her."

"Late!" Taffy sulked back to her spot and started stretching in her own vat of 'ticked-offness'. Cleo groaned as she spotted Gryphon, surrounded by his harem of fangirls; who screamed as he did normal stretches, and fainted as he jogged in place. She rolled her eyes and did her own stretches, completely unawares of the boys who quietly observed her out of the corners of their eyes. She may not have been "popular" but she was quite pretty, with shin length white hair and sassy, thickly lashed aquamarine eyes.

"Listen up maggots! Today we are playing soccer! Gryphon, Gracie, you be team captains!" Cleo groaned. Great, just what she needed, the two people that hated her the most! Lovely, why doesn't someone just paint 'loser' over her head and be done with it? The only thing that was halfway OK with this is that she was quite good at soccer. Hah, who was she kidding? She was great at soccer!

"Gryphon dear, you pick first, and remember, I'm off limits! Heeheehee," Gracie said, sappy sweet. Gryphon rolled his eyes, earning points in Cleo's book.

"OK, uhm, George!" A blonde athletic kid strutted over to stand at attention at his side.

"Marie!" Parrot scooted over slightly to stand beside her.

"Luke."

"Jamie."

"Jacques."

"Lucy."

"Cleo." _HUH? Crazy blue-haired kid say WHAT!?_ Cleo just stood there in shock.

"Cleo! Come over here! I picked you!" _Yes. Yes he did. He must have an evil scheme running through that playboy head of his…_ Cleo shuffled over to stand at his side, though quite a bit further away. He grabbed her forearm and pulled her into his side. He smelled of strawberries for some absurd reason. A gasp rippled through the fangirl ranks. Gryphon let go of her and continued choosing his players. Cleo was half mortified and half afraid of the wrath of fangirls _and _Gracie, who was in the process of staring daggers through her head. Even Taffy looked astounded. When all the players were chosen, the teams moved outside and into a giant grassy field with trees surrounding the playing field. She moved in a daze to the far side of the field and turned, ready to get in and steal the ball as soon as the whistle blew.

~Fweet! ~ The whistle shrieked. Cleo started bolting across the field, and wove around a bulky boy in biker shorts, ew. She sped in to steal the ball from Gracie when she turned suddenly and kicked the ball into Cleo's stomach, knocking the wind out of her and sending her to her knees. That girl kicked _hard_!

"Oh! Sorry Cleo! Are you ok?" Gracie asked with mock concern.

"I'm fine," Cleo mumbled before staggering to her feet. Gracie looked disappointed.

"Coach! Cleo doesn't look so good! Maybe she should sit down, I could take her place!" Cleo rolled her eyes exaggeratedly.

"That's a good idea! Cleopatra, take five!" _What? Is this coach a moron? _Cleo shot Taffy a look, trudged back to the gym, and plonked down on one of the bleachers. Thirty minutes later, the kids came back in. Gracie had managed to wrap herself around Gryphon's arm—he pulled away, much to her disappointment. He walked over to her and sat next to her. She scooted away.

"What's the big idea, Gryphon? You don't like me, and I don't like you. What are you playing at, or are you just trying to get your fangirls jealous?"

"Is it unheard of that maybe I just want to be nice?"

"Yes!"

"Fine. I'm trying to get that pink haired girl to notice me. She's always hanging around you and I thought maybe if I was nice to you, she'd notice me."

Cleo stared at him in absolute shock. _Whazzat… sweet? _"Plus, jealous fangirls are always nice," Gryphon ruined the moment with his cocky playboy grin. _Scratch that._ Cleo rolled her eyes for the thirty-thousandth time that day.

Cleo stood up, "As if Taffy would ever like you! She's too sweet, and caring, and kind, and- AGGHH!" Her rant was cut off short when the soccer ball hit her in the head at full speed, flipping her _over_ the bench and making her crack her head on the metal bleacher seat behind her. She fell to the floor, limp as a rag-doll. Gracie covered her mouth, seemingly startled, in reality, hiding a smirk. Gryphon leaped up, half startled, and half indignant that the girl would _dare_ be knocked out while speaking to him. Taffy came running and started shaking her limp friend by the shoulders.

"NOW IS NOT A GOOD TIME TO PLAY DEAD CLEO! UP!" Cleo moaned slightly. Gryphon put a hand on her forehead as the rest of the curious children gathered around him, offering such useful comments as: "is she dead?", "hey, kiss her, see if she wakes up!", "good riddance.", "someone get an icepack!", and "who's that?".

"Oh yeah, she's out. I'll take her to the nurse. Hey, you're her best friend right? You tag along," Gryphon said, and slung the unconscious girl over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"HEY! Be careful with her!" Taffy squeaked.

~Again, at the Nurse's Office~

"Arceus forbid! I'm gonna kill that bi-" Cleo started before Taffy clamped her hand over her mouth.

"Language!" she scolded.

"Whatever. I've had enough. Pack your bags. We are leaving tomorrow," Cleo hissed.

"I can come?"

"If you can keep up."

"Yay! Just one question. Do you have any Pokémon, 'cuz _I_ don't."

"No, but I know where we can get some…"

"Oh no, I don't like that face!"

"Come on!" Cleo grinned like a demon and dragged the unwilling Taffy out of the bleak room, down the hall, and into the gymnasium. It was empty and they weren't surprised. It _was_ after school hours after all. Taffy had been assigned to keep watch over Cleo until she woke up. Cleo tiptoed around the clear pool that sat slap-bang in the middle of the room—she had seen more than one kid fall in—and into a small storage room on the far side of the room. She flung open the door, dropped to her knees, and began to rummage around in a big, blue, cardboard box.

"Hey Cleo, that's where they keep the water Pokém- Oh. No. Oh no. We are _not_ gonna steal Pokémon!" Taffy said, waving her arms around like a maniac.

"You might not, but I will! Which one tickles your fancy? I want _this_ one!" Cleo said, holding up a love ball like it was mana from the heavens. "It's a Milotic! Are you sure you don't want one? This one matches your hair!" Taffy was convinced. She dropped to her knees beside Cleo and plunged her hands into the box.

"Which one matches my hair?"

"Dragonair."

"Dragonair are blue."

"Not this one. Did someone dump dye on it? The poor thing!" (A.N These people know nothing of shiny Pokémon, do they?)

"Aw, I'll take it!" Taffy finished, just as the door they took care not to shut slammed shut. The two girls gazed at each other, "Please tell me that door doesn't lock…"

Cleo jumped for the door and rattled it. "Crap… we're locked in!" Taffy started hyperventilating.

"Ohmigosh, we're gonna die! Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, ohmigosh!"

"Shut up Taffy! What are we trapped in a room full of?"

Taffy looked around.

"Oh, heehee."

Cleo looked down at the Milotic in her hand, which wiggled expectantly. "Uhm, hi?" More wiggling.

"You might want to back up Taffy." Taffy jumped back, tripped over a box, fell in the box, and surfaced with packing peanuts on her nose and hair. Cleo pressed the button. A white flash blinded her momentarily before she was eye-to-tail with a Milotic. She was quite beautiful; she was long and snake-like, with intelligent eyes, a cream body, long, pink, puppy-dog like ears and a pink and blue scale pattern on her tail. Cleo gestured at the door.

"Mind opening that for me?" Milotic's tail glowed white and with a CRASH! The door was blown open. Milotic wiggled again, looking immensely pleased with herself. Taffy struggled around, attempting and failing, to get out of the box, then gave up.

"Help?" she asked. With a grin, Cleo put her foot on the box and tipped it over, spilling pokéballs, packing peanuts, and Taffy, all over the closet floor. She got up, brushed herself off, and calmly stated, "shall we run?"

"Yes, let's." The two girls high tailed it out of the closet. Milotic looked confused. Cleo then walked back, held out the pokéball, returned her, and _then_ high tailed it out of the school. Man, the board was _not_ gonna be happy when they saw the carnage.

**And that is chapter two! Yay! I like this one! For all you one or two readers, Cleo is accident prone, and Gracie is evil. Tune in soon for chapter three, when our dear friends Cleo and Taffy _really_ get into the action!**

**~Twi the incredible!~**


	3. Collisions in Olivine

**Hi! It's me again with chapter three! Ok, this chapter is dedicated to Relle; Yesterday was her birthday! Happy Birthday, buddy! This one's for you! So, without further ado, Chapter Three: Collisions in Olivine!**

"ARGH! What were we _thinking_?" Taffy screeched as Cleo tossed clothes and personal items into a duffle bag.

"Shush! Do you want to wake up my dad?" Cleo hissed at her friend as she held up a black t-shirt.

"What is _that_?" Taffy gasped. Cleo rolled her eyes.

"A t-shirt?"

"You wear that?"

"No, I sleep in it…come to think of it, yes, I do wear it," Cleo replied. Taffy's mouth hung open. "Close your mouth, it's unattractive." Taffy shut her mouth with a snap.

"Can I pick your clothes?"

"No! Are you crazy? You'll make me look like a neon supermodel!"

"But you do look like one!"

"No I don't!"

"Do too!

"Do not!"

"Do to!"

"Do NOT!" Cleo yelled, then clamped a hand over her mouth, but continued to look murderously at the Oh-so-innocent Taffy. Said girl, realizing the conversation was going nowhere, narrowed her eyes and put her hand on her chin.

"Hm. I'll tell you what, if I can beat you in a competition, can I pick out your outfits, do your hair, and pick your accessories?"

"What _kind_ of competition?"

"Hnn…Oh! Arm-wrestling!"

"And what's in it for me?" Cleo gazed at Taffy through half-lidded eyes, already mentally scoffing at the idea of the tiny pink-haired girl throwing down with the best of the arm-wrestlers, AKA: Cleo.

"If you win, I'll never bug you about your clothes again!" Cleo put her hand over her heart exaggeratedly.

"Who are you and what have you done with Taffy?"

"Hardy har _har_." Taffy scowled at her best friend who was just zipping up her duffle bag. "So, you game?"

"Sure. I'll beat you and we can be on our merry way to your house!" Cleo said cheerfully, pulling up a creaky old chair to place their elbows on. Taffy removed her fingerless mesh gloves and put her elbow on the chair. Cleo did the same. "Three, two, one, go!" In one swift movement, Taffy picked up her elbow, licked her hand, and slammed Cleo's hand down on the chair.

"Oh my gosh that was _gross_! _Why would you do that?_"

"Because you're a germaphobe and I wanted to win," Taffy said with a quirky grin. Cleo just glared at her and turned her bag over, dumping her clothes out. She knew better than to argue with Taffy when she was right.

"For a girl who played an angel in last year's Christmas pageant, you really need a pair of curly demon horns!"

"Come on Cleopatra, to my house!" Taffy said and ran out of the room. Cleo sighed, slung her empty duffle over her shoulder, and followed.

~At Taffy's~

"This is going to be such fun!" Taffy cried, skipping around her purple room, slinging various articles of clothing on the bed and Cleo. She delicately plucked a lime halter-top with a gold chain belt off her head and stuffed it into her bag.

"Hey! Why are ya putting that away?"

"Don't you want me to bring it?"

"No, I want you to _wear_ it." Taffy said, chipper as a skitty. Cleo sweat-dropped.

"Of course. Can we please stop with the clothes and actually pack something_ useful_?"

Taffy stopped skipping, "Such as…?"

"Medicine! Food! Blankets! Spare Pokéballs! Money! These things don't just fall from the sky!" Cleo roared.

"Ooooh! On it!" Ten minutes later Taffy had accumulated quite an impressive collection of…well, everything except money. "How's this?"

Cleo stared with enormous eyes before turning and attacking Taffy in a hug, "Perfect! Now we can start!"

"Wait, you were serious? We are really running away?" Cleo's only response was to grab the bags and Taffy's ear and drag her out the door.

~Just outside the neighborhood~

"Can we eat now?"

"NO! Would you STOP TALKING ABOUT FOOD? We've been walking for TEN FREAKING MINUTES!" Cleo bellowed. Taffy pouted.

"Well, can we let Sparkle out?"

"Who the heck is _Sparkle_?"

"My dragonair! When she moves her scales sparkle." Cleo rolled her eyes; she seemed to be doing a lot of that recently.

"Sure. Whatever."

"Yay! Come on Sparkle!" Taffy squealed as she tossed the purple pokéball into the air. With a flash, the pink dragonair appeared. Taffy hugged the enormous Pokémon around the neck while the sweet Pokémon nuzzled her hair.

"Did that critter get bigger?" Cleo asked in a weak voice, her head tilted up to look at the dragonair. Taffy shook her head in surprise.

"Hey Cleo, where are we going?"

"Olivine City."

"Why?"

"It's going to take us to Hoenn."

"Why Hoenn?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because I said so."

"Ok." An awkward silence followed Taffy's attempt at conversation.

~30 Minutes Later~

"Can we eat now?"

"Can I kill you now?"

"Point taken." The two girls continued walking along the simple black path with the huge pink dragon following merrily. Cleo clearly wasn't in the mood to talk, so Taffy was bored out of her mind. She swung her backpack around and pulled out light blue cloth, a gold chain, silver ribbon, and needle and thread. Cleo watched her out of the corner of her eye, quietly amazed that the cotton-candy haired girl could sew while walking. Taffy hummed to herself as she stitched the cloth into an off-the-shoulder top with a gold chain belt and silver ribbon sweetheart neckline. Cleo couldn't take it any more.

"What _are_ you doing?"

"Making a shirt."

"Why?"

"Because I can."

"Ok, ok, I get it. You don't like it when I don't chatter like a mankey. Can you stop it? It's grating on my nerves!"

"Ok! Ooh! What's that?" Taffy "oohed" as a little blue Pokémon with a big fin on the top of its head came scuttling by.

"Who cares? We are nearly there anyway."

"But it's cute and I want it! Come on Sparkle, let's catch it! Use Dragon Rage!" Cleo gaped as Sparkle reared up and a smoky beam of blue and gold burst from her mouth, crashing into the little Pokémon and sending it crashing into a tree. It popped back up, clearly very annoyed and lunged at Taffy, clawing at her. "EEEEH! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" Cleo rolled around on the grass, laughing her head off.

"HAHAHAHAH! THAT'S WHAT YOU…HAHAHAHA!" she couldn't even finish her sentence she was laughing so hard, but eventually she sat up, wiping away a tear as the vicious little blue thing finished its attack on Taffy's now completely messed up hair. She stood up and went to go help extricate the blue demon fish creature from Taffy's hair. She tugged on it a few times and finally yanked it from her hair, earning a "Yow!" from the bedraggled Taffy. She set it on the ground and gave it a nudge with her foot, sending it scampering away. Taffy glared at it's retreating form.

"I don't want it anymore," she said finally in a quiet voice.

"Oh, really? Why ever not?" Taffy nudged her and set to work fixing her hair. Cleo fished in a bag for a hairbrush and set to work helping Taffy with her hair.

"Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow!"

"Sorry."

~Olivine City~

"Wow…that's expensive…" Cleo mumbled as she gazed at the price of tickets to Hoenn.

_1 Ticket to Hoenn…20,000 pok_é_dollars_

_2 Tickets to Hoenn…30,000 pokédollars_

_3 Tickets to Hoenn…40,000 pokédollars_

"We don't have that kind of money!" Taffy screeched, earning a dirty look from the sailors surrounding them. After being rudely told to get out, the two girls moseyed back out of the building, highly depressed and very ticked off.

"Infernape! Mach Punch!" A childish voice jarred to two girls back into the real world. They quickly found the source of the voice in an alley: A chubby little boy with an Infernape standing over the same little blue Pokémon that had attacked Taffy earlier.

A boy about their own age with long shaggy black hair and crimson gold-flecked eyes gathered the blue Pokémon into his arms, disappointment clear in his unusual eyes. "It's okay Mudkip. You did your best."

The chubby boy bounced over, smugness written all over his face. "Hah! Beat ya! Fork over the dough, Wimp!" he said to the raven haired boy.

The boy's head snapped up, aggressiveness written all over his face. His red-gold eyes flashing. Then the fire died, and he fished out his wallet, handing over what must have been at least 10,000 pokédollars. Cleo's eyes lit up and you could hear the *Cha-ching*.

"Oi! Kid! You with the Infernape! Hey, I'm talking to ya!" she suddenly yelled, scaring Taffy and the fat kid. Fat Kid spun around.

"Yeah? Waddaya…whoah…" his mouth hung open and with good reason. Two girls were advancing on him, long hair flowing in the convenient wind, and they were talking to _him_. He straightened and brushed back his hair. "And what can I do for _you_?" he slurred and threw his arm around Taffy. She brushed his arm off. The other boy rolled his eyes and stood up, his Mudkip in his arms.

"Yeah. While you attempt to flirt, I'm off."

Fat Boy spun on him. "Don't think I'm done with you Lucas! And get that weakling out of my sight!"

Lucas stiffened and set the injured Mudkip down. "_Don't _talk about Mudkip like that, Thomas. Ever." He hissed and stumbled back as the boy sent a punch at his head.

"Don't talk to me like that! You will never, ever be anything but a loser, and don't you forget it!" Thomas said and advanced on Lucas. Cleo and Taffy had backed up a few paces, but now Cleo was bored. She stepped forward, dropped to the ground and swept Thomas' legs out from under him, sending the bully tumbling backward. He squirmed around, trying to get up to no avail; he was too corpulent. She got back up, brushed herself off, knelt and picked up the plump wallet he dropped.

"You know, it's not nice to bully others. Maybe I'll just take this, as a reminder to always be kind to others of course!" she said sweetly, thoroughly enjoying watching the boy's face get redder and redder as he flailed around, trying in vain to get up and attempt to beat the pulp out of the smug girl. It wouldn't have done anything except land him in a hospital, but he could tell all his friends that he nearly beat up a girl!

Uhm, Cleo. That's stealing…" Taffy offered meekly.

"Yeah, I know! Your point?"

"Uhm, it's against the law?"

"Are you gonna tell on me?"

"No! But, he might." She said, pointing a finger to the petrified Lucas.

Cleo glared at him. "Are you gonna tell on me?"

He shook his head frantically. "No! No! Actually, I think I should be thanking you. He's been crushing me in battle everyday for almost a year."

"Dang! How much _money_ do you have?"

Lucas flushed. "Um…quite a bit I think?"

Cleo sidled up to him, before putting a hand on her hip. "Seeming as I rescued you from certain pulping, don't you think I deserve a reward? How about you don't say a word, I take this here wallet, and you owe me a favor?" Lucas nodded so much Cleo thought his neck was going to break.

"Ok! Um, bye." He mumbled, then grabbed his Mudkip and bolted. Taffy walked up to Cleo and the two left the dirty alley and the stranded boy.

Taffy piped up, "Wasn't that the same Pokémon that attacked me earlier?"

Cleo face palmed. "I give up. Come on Taffy, boat's about to leave, and this here," Cleo waved the wallet around, "is our key to a new realm, Hoenn!" Taffy grinned and the two girls walked toward the boat. Little did they know a dark figure was watching them very closely.

A grin played upon his lips. "Oh, so they're going to Hoenn are they? Maybe I'll join them."

**And done! Hope you liked this chapter! Can anyone guess who the mystery figure is? Virtual cookies to everyone who knows…even though it **_**is**_** pretty obvious… Once again, Happy birthday Relle! Tune in next time! Ciao, Twi!**


	4. Battles on Boats and Poison?

**Hiya! Yes, yes. I know you all hate me with a passion for taking so flipping long, but my computer broke so I couldn't get on for a really long time. My apologies! This one's for Anica and Malory! Thanks for reviewing every chapter, it means a lot to me. So, fasten your seatbelts, here comes…Chapter 4: Battles on Boats, and…Poison?**

On the U.S.S Aqua~

"Ohhhh, I feel sick," Cleo moaned, her head hanging over the side of the streamlined cruise liner. Taffy patted her back and handed her a lemon smoothie with a cute pink umbrella. Cleo grabbed it, gulped it down, and handed it back. Taffy sighed, shook her head, and went for her nineteenth smoothie that Cleo had downed in one.

"Why did you pick going to Hoenn by boat if you _knew_ you get really bad sea-sickness?" she asked the miserable girl who was now turning a shade of lime that matched her mini skirt (picked out by Taffy) _perfectly!_

"Because we didn't have any flying Pokémon," Cleo moaned. Taffy nodded sympathetically. Cleo groaned again and her legs gave out from under her and she crumpled to the deck, moaning and groaning.

"All righty then, up you get! This is a _cruise_! Let's go to the restaurants!"

"This is a _battle cruise_. If you go downstairs, anybody you make eye contact with, you have to battle!" she said, clutching her stomach.

Taffy sighed, her shoulders sagging. "Oh well, I guess I'll be doing a lot of battling, because I am _really_ hungry. Come one, let's get you cleaned up!" she chirped, and heaved Cleo onto her feet, much to the discomfort of Cleo. She staggered slightly under her weight, even though Cleo was very slight, Taffy was even slighter.

~In their Cabin~

"Hmm. Here, wear this, this and this," Taffy said, and pulled out a dress with a flourish. Cleo was amazed that she didn't hate it. High-heeled black ankle boots and a pair of silver fingerless gloves accompanied an silver dress with a sweetheart neckline, a cinched waist, and a skirt that flowed out to about her knees.

"Where are we going? Dinner with the Queen?" she finally asked.

Taffy giggled, "Of course not! If we were, I would totally make you wear a floor length ball gown!"

"Oh no, anything but that!" Cleo mock cried, a hand over her heart. The two girls grinned and Taffy threw her arm around Cleo, who seemed to have forgotten her sea sickness all of a sudden, and turned her to face three dresses on the wall: A yellow floor length one, a black one in a style identical to Cleo's, and a white one that hugged her body and stopped at about her knees.

"Which one? I like them all."

Cleo's nose crinkled, "I don't like the white one, it's yucky. Wear the black one!" A whoosh of clothing later, and the girls were in identical outfit-minus the color- and ready to eat! Cleo looped her arm through Taffy's and the two waltzed out the door.

Taffy stopped suddenly, causing Cleo to crash into her. "Why'd you stop?" Cleo asked, nursing a bruised nose. Taffy pointed down the hall. A black haired boy in a red jacket and pants was patrolling the hall, tossing a pokéball in the air. "Oh. What do we do? I can't take him out, I'm in heels!" Cleo whispered. Taffy gestured to a closet on the left side of the hall. The girls ducked into it. It was full of cleaning supplies and Taffy started to yell in surprise as a bucket dropped on her head and clattered to the ground. Cleo clamped a hand over her mouth and the two girls listened attentively as they heard footsteps pause, and then continue going by. Cleo removed her hand and mouthed, _Three, two, one, Go!_ The girls flung open the door, knocking the poor boy to the ground -he hadn't quite cleared the door- and scrambled down the hall.

"Hey! Wait a second!" came the frantic yell as the boy jumped to his feet and chased after them. The girls were long gone however, so he pouted, then went back to trolling for innocent victims.

The girls stopped a ways away, and, panting, straightened up and dusted imaginary dust off their dresses. "That was fun." Taffy commented, rubbing the knot on her head where the bucket had clonked her on the head.

"Yeah. Let's never do that again." Cleo panted, hands on her knees. She eventually straightened up and put her hands behind her head. "Can we eat now?"

"Alright. It's just now this hallway." Taffy said and skipped down the whitewashed hallway.

"How would you even know that?" Cleo groaned and followed.

"Here! Whoops! Sorry!" Taffy shrieked as she flung open a door, just to reveal a large group of people in suits and a dumbfounded man with a series of charts with up and down lines on them. Cleo peered in.

"Hmm. Pokémart is going out of business. Remind me to sell my stock." Cleo deadpanned, and slammed the door. Taffy was bright red and stuttering. Cleo rolled her eyes and mumbled something about 'Scatterbrained'. She snapped her fingers in front of Taffy's face. "So. You know your way around the boat do you?"

"Hehehe…whoops…" Taffy said, chuckling nervously. Cleo sighed and shook her head.

"Taffy, Taffy, Taffy. What am I going to do with…fudge." Cleo started, but trailed off as a girl in a similar outfit to the boy they had knocked to the ground came around the corner, a blue pokéball in her hand. She was clutching it so tightly her gloved hands were quivering slightly. Taffy looked up and looked the girl in the eye. Instantly the girl grinned and pressed the button on the pokéball.

"Hah! We locked gazes! You have to battle me!" A long seviper coiled around the girl and hissed, revealing the cruel fangs in its mouth. Taffy gulped. Her hand shook as she reached behind her and pulled out the ball where Dragonair was squirming happily…until it saw its opponent.

"C-come on o-out D-dragonair," Taffy stuttered, her face turning bright red as the dragon shook her head, clearly not willing to fight. "C-come o-on, p-please?"

With a sigh, Cleo snatched the ball out of Taffy's hands and chucked it. The

Dragonair fell out of the ball with a great _thump_ as the machinery inside the pokéball forced the Pokémon to evacuate.

The challenger looked rather unimpressed as she saw Taffy struggle to pull herself together, but smirked anyway and raised a single hand to point at Cleo. "You. You judge."

Cleo glared, "Can I get a please, Prissy?" Receiving no response didn't help her mood, but she shuffled over the stand between the shaking-like-a-leaf Taffy, and the confident Prissy. A quick flash of her hand signaled the start of the match.

Prissy leapt back and yelled, "Quick Seviper, use Poison tail!" The snake's tail glowed purple and crashed down on Dragonair's head, knocking it flat. Taffy yelped and flailed her arms helplessly, completely confused as to what to do.

"Taffy! Tell Dragonair to use dragon rush!" Cleo said, snapping Taffy out of a self-induced panic attack.

"Uh, yeah! Dragonair, Dragon Rush!" Taffy squeaked out. Dragonair reared back and a vortex of blue energy formed, whirling and spinning. Cleo paled.

"Uh. Taffy. That's _not Dragon Rush!_" She threw herself to the ground and covered her head, just as the opposing girl yelled for Seviper to use poison sting.

Taffy shrieked as Dragonair released the energy and it collided with the poison sting, sending them spinning everywhere, including the Seviper, and the blasted through, throwing the Seviper into the wall. The boat shuddered.

Cleo looked up. The Seviper was out cold, its eyes spinning and its body punctured by several spiked needles. The trainer had potions and antidotes out, and was healing it slowly, taking care of every wound carefully. Dragonair, on the other hand, was curled tightly around something unmoving. _Oh no…_ Cleo scrambled to her feet and rushed over to Dragonair, leaping over her pink sides to drop to her knees and gently lift her best friend's head up to rest on her lap. Taffy's chest had been peppered with needles and a few stuck out of her neck and arms. She was sweating and her face had a purple tinge to it, signifying that she had been severely poisoned. Cleo started panicking._ Oh no…_

_**Cliffie! Yeah, I know, I'm late! *Is shot. Again* But did ya like the chappie? **__**Send me a review and tell me what ya think. I'll give ya a hint. The next chapter has both Gryphon **__**and**__**Lucas! Enjoy!**_


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